| The Process Cont. |
July 26 cont.
We also decided to buy something fun for the house. We are kind of putting the cart before the horse as
they say in farm talk, but every now and then I need to do this to keep my spirits high. We bought a teak
root bench for the yard. I bought it in Wiscasset from Jack Stone at Island Teak Co. It was neat to learn
about how the teak root had been in the ground for at least 75 years since the tree had been cut down and
that the tree would have been around 150 years old when it was cut down. this makes the wood for my
bench is over 200 years old. That is older than the house. We hope to spend many years sitting on this
bench enjoying our house and yard.
We also decided to buy something fun for the house. We are kind of putting the cart before the horse as
they say in farm talk, but every now and then I need to do this to keep my spirits high. We bought a teak
root bench for the yard. I bought it in Wiscasset from Jack Stone at Island Teak Co. It was neat to learn
about how the teak root had been in the ground for at least 75 years since the tree had been cut down and
that the tree would have been around 150 years old when it was cut down. this makes the wood for my
bench is over 200 years old. That is older than the house. We hope to spend many years sitting on this
bench enjoying our house and yard.
August 14, 2006
After a brief sabbatical to get the farm ready for our Lobster bake and a couple of days off to relax at
the lake with my lovely wife, it is time to get back to the grind.
The siding calls me... asking to be finished before the winter. The staging is now set up three levels high
so I can reach the 23 foot high roof line on the back of the house. This is good practice for when I get
to the sides and need to go thirty seven feet up in the air.
The first part of the project was to replace some of the soffit which had a hole in it. As I removed this
board I noticed some rot and an old squirrel's nest. So after cleaning out the mess the re-building began.
Once I finished that part (which came out very nicely if I do say so myself) I started to scrap and sand
the rest of the soffit. After the sanding I applied a coat of primer. I am now using an oil base primer as
the water base primer was not covering the knots not even after two coats of finish paint. Live and
learn. The oil base paint though is very messy. Ok, so I am messy, the paint just makes the mess harder
to clean up. I also added some dental molding to the top of the siding to add a litle character. The
molding does not show up as much as I thought it would but it looks nice just the same. Pattie likes it so
that is really all that matters (if you are a married guy you know what I mean). It is fun to work on a
house of this size and substance that you can add detail work and not have it overwhelm the house.
I now need to work quickly on the siding as my father is coming up soon to help for a couple of days
and I do not want him to think I slacked off waiting for him to come up and help. So the next few
weeks will be nothing but siding.
After a brief sabbatical to get the farm ready for our Lobster bake and a couple of days off to relax at
the lake with my lovely wife, it is time to get back to the grind.
The siding calls me... asking to be finished before the winter. The staging is now set up three levels high
so I can reach the 23 foot high roof line on the back of the house. This is good practice for when I get
to the sides and need to go thirty seven feet up in the air.
The first part of the project was to replace some of the soffit which had a hole in it. As I removed this
board I noticed some rot and an old squirrel's nest. So after cleaning out the mess the re-building began.
Once I finished that part (which came out very nicely if I do say so myself) I started to scrap and sand
the rest of the soffit. After the sanding I applied a coat of primer. I am now using an oil base primer as
the water base primer was not covering the knots not even after two coats of finish paint. Live and
learn. The oil base paint though is very messy. Ok, so I am messy, the paint just makes the mess harder
to clean up. I also added some dental molding to the top of the siding to add a litle character. The
molding does not show up as much as I thought it would but it looks nice just the same. Pattie likes it so
that is really all that matters (if you are a married guy you know what I mean). It is fun to work on a
house of this size and substance that you can add detail work and not have it overwhelm the house.
I now need to work quickly on the siding as my father is coming up soon to help for a couple of days
and I do not want him to think I slacked off waiting for him to come up and help. So the next few
weeks will be nothing but siding.
| September 2, 2006 Day 356 |
As the month of August ended the weather changed to give a stark reminder of what is coming........
winter. Each passing day brings me closer to the day when I will no longer be able to work on the
outside of the house. I can not depend on us having another warm winter like last year.
As planned my father came up and helped me on siding the house. My only regret is that he did not
stay longer. He was very helpful and it was nice to spend some one on one time together. As important
as this project is, it is truely worth nothing without family and friends to share it with.
We were able to side the entire doghouse and the peak on the kitchen addition. By accomplishing this it
left me with only one more peak to side. My original goal was to get all the peaks sided while my
father was up here helping, so to finish all but one was quite an accomplishment, since most of my
goals are, as my wife would say, unrealistic. I prefer to think of them as being set high.
After my Dad went home I have been busy painting the siding that is up so that I can move the staging
to another area. Pattie has been coming up also to help paint. We are hoping to start the front of the
house by mid September which will be the fun part. Once we are working on the front people driving
by will actually be able to see that we have been working on the house. Right now the front has looked
the same for almost six months and I am sure people are wondering if we are even working on the
house anymore.
winter. Each passing day brings me closer to the day when I will no longer be able to work on the
outside of the house. I can not depend on us having another warm winter like last year.
As planned my father came up and helped me on siding the house. My only regret is that he did not
stay longer. He was very helpful and it was nice to spend some one on one time together. As important
as this project is, it is truely worth nothing without family and friends to share it with.
We were able to side the entire doghouse and the peak on the kitchen addition. By accomplishing this it
left me with only one more peak to side. My original goal was to get all the peaks sided while my
father was up here helping, so to finish all but one was quite an accomplishment, since most of my
goals are, as my wife would say, unrealistic. I prefer to think of them as being set high.
After my Dad went home I have been busy painting the siding that is up so that I can move the staging
to another area. Pattie has been coming up also to help paint. We are hoping to start the front of the
house by mid September which will be the fun part. Once we are working on the front people driving
by will actually be able to see that we have been working on the house. Right now the front has looked
the same for almost six months and I am sure people are wondering if we are even working on the
house anymore.